


The flatterer lives at the expense of those who will listen to him

by a_salty_alto



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Accomplice au, Amnesia, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-03-20 14:24:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18994402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: Fills for Akekita Week 2019





	1. Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chance photograph leads Yusuke and Goro to strike a deal

At around midday, Yusuke finally notices that his classmates seem to be paying more attention to him than usual.

They keep slipping him quick glances ranging from curious to seething with hatred. The latter kind are mostly from groups of school girls who otherwise would have never given Yusuke the time of day.

Yusuke does his best to put it aside and focus on his art, but by the end of the day, it's too much to bear, and Yusuke leaves early to head to Leblanc to try to work in peace.

Only when he gets there, there's a bigger crowd than usual, all with their phones out. When they notice him, Yusuke's suddenly accosted by dozens of phones being shoved in his face and various questions like "what's it like to be dating a celebrity?" "How'd you meet?" "How long have you been together?"

Yusuke is paralyzed, but someone grabs his arm and pushes him through the crowd and into Leblanc proper.

"Are you alright, Kitagawa?" Akechi asks.

"Y-yes, thank you," Yusuke pants. "I owe you one."

Akechi waves him off. "It's nothing, really. If anything, this whole mess is my fault."

"What do you mean?

Akechi pulls out his phone and opens a webpage. The top image is a photo of Yusuke and Goro leaving Leblanc together after a Phantom Thief meeting under the heading "Detective Prince's Secret Boyfriend?!"

"Someone just so happened to snap that picture last week and all the gossip sites went insane." Akechi explains.

"How inconvenient."

"I know, I'm sorry. Can I get you some dinner to make up for it?"

Yusuke isn't one to turn down a meal, but he looks warily at the door of Leblanc still blocked with onlookers. "How do we get out?"

Akechi, takes Yusuke's hand and nods towards the attic stairs. "I know Amamiya isn't here right now, but I don't think he'll begrudge us borrowing his window."

Akechi climbs out Ren's window and down to the sidewalk. Yusuke-- less than gracefully-- follows suit.

Akechi catches him and helps Yusuke down to the sidewalk. He takes Yusuke to a cozy little restaurant Shibuya. They get a table in the corner where no one can see them.

"I really can't apologize enough for this mess." Akechi says while they eat.

"It's not your fault," Yusuke sighs. "Let's just clear this whole thing up and be done with it."

Akechi nods and takes another slow bite.

Once Yusuke has finished his dinner, he starts to gather his things, but Akechi places a hand on top of Yusuke's to stop him.

Akechi smiles. "Wait. Stay for dessert."

Yusuke shrugs and sits down again. They share a massive slice of chocolate cake between them.

"You know, I have an invitation to a reception at the art museum tomorrow night." Akechi says "Apparently they're going to show off a rare collection of Italian works-"

Yusuke nearly chokes on his cake. "That's one of the biggest art events of the year! How'd you get invited?"

"I have… many connections." Akechi reaches over to wipe some food from the corner of Yusuke's mouth. "Anyway, I'm allowed to bring a date, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

"...What's in it for you?" Yusuke asks warily.

"I'll admit," Akechi smirks. "if people believe we're dating, it limits the range of questions I get asked about my love life, and I wouldn't mind that."

Yusuke frowns. "I'm not sure-"

"And it would give people something to talk about other than Okumura and the Phantom Thieves." Goro adds.

Yusuke bites his lip. That was a good point, and that event at the Art Museum would probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some famous works up close.

And really, what's the worst that could happen?

"Alright, Akechi." Yusuke says, "you've got yourself a deal."

Akechi leans forward suddenly and presses a kiss to Yusuke's lips. There's the shutter of a phone camera going off, and Akechi grins.

"Thank you. And I think,  _ Yusuke _ , it's probably best you call me Goro."

Still a little stunned, Yusuke nods.

"Perfect. I'll pick you up tomorrow night at 7."


	2. Day 2: Accomplices/Adversaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Goro saves Yusuke's life, Yusuke has a request

Goro walks Yusuke back to the shack.

It's normal, now. Same wooden walls barely holding it together. Same sensei inside who will be furious about his lateness.

Nothing gilded, no fantastical powers or strange costumes.

It's just his home.

Yusuke loathes himself for calling the place where so many suffered at the hands of his sensei his home but, the fact remains that he's never really been anywhere else. Ever since his mother died, he had lived here.

"You should forget you saw me." Goro says, rousing Yusuke from his thoughts. Yusuke nods. He's right. It would be better for both of them if Yusuke just opened the door and went inside. If he pretended he hadn't seen the true self of the boy who saved his life.

Just open the door and go home.

That's all he has to do.

 Pretend none of this ever happened.

 That's all he has to do.

 Go back to what he's been doing all his life.

 That's all-

 "Let's make a deal." Yusuke says.

 Goro turns back to him. "What?"

 "I have the same power as you now. Let me help you. Whatever you need to do, I'll be by your side. In exchange, you just have to help me kill Madarame."

 "Are you sure?"

 Yusuke nods and Goro laughs.

 "You have no idea what you're doing." Goro says. "Alright. We'll talk tomorrow."


	3. School/Work & Damnation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke reflects on his choices

The facilities at Kosei are impeccably clean, and meticulously maintained. Despite students  constantly coming in to paint and spilling supplies in the process, it’s spotless. The white of the walls catches the setting sun as Yusuke tries to paint, not paying attention to whatever the teacher behind him is saying-- probably something about the recently-announced death of the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

Yes, Yusuke’s phone is abuzz with texts and notifications, and he knows he’ll be called to meet the others at Leblanc soon.

Yusuke tries to focus on the painting at hand, when arms wrap around him and a voice whispers in his ear. 

“Hey, handsome. Come here often?”

Yusuke turns to see that the classroom is empty save for himself and Goro. Yusuke laughs it off and gives his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“Oh you know, got off of work early, and I wanted to spend some quality time with my man. Since we’ve both been so busy.”

Yusuke leans into Goro’s embrace. 

It’s nice.

They haven’t been able to be like this for awhile. It was vital for Yusuke’s infiltration of the Phantom Thieves that none of them know his connection to Goro, and that meant not being able to relax in each other’s presence, save for the occasional handhold in Sae’s Palace or the brushing of legs in Mementos.

Yusuke’s phone buzzes again.

The Phantom Thieves.

If Yusuke’s being honest, despite his intentions upon joining them, he’s grown rather fond of them.

So now, as day settles into dusk, Yusuke has a choice.

Yusuke has no doubts that if he came clean to them right now and lead them to Shido, they’d be willing to let him rejoin the team. He could join them and try to atone for his sins.

But then again, Yusuke’s always been a firm believer of sticking to his decisions and following through, and in the brief instant that Madarame’s untimely death had dominated the news and his crimes were allowed to sink into shadows, he had decided to stand by Goro’s side. It was Goro who made Yusuke see the truth of Madarame’s heart, and for that Yusuke owed him his life.

So, if Goro was walking a path to Hell, then Yusuke would gladly join him.

_ “Joker’s alive.” _

  
  



	4. Firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Oblivio but Akekita.
> 
> In other words- in which the amnesia effect works a little differently

When he wakes up, it's dark and his whole body hurts. There's shattered pieces of glass around him and a sliver of light that allows him to put together that he's in some sort of alley, but little else.

He picks himself up off the ground and hears movement behind him. Reflexively, he moves backwards into the shadows and watches someone else pull themselves off the ground.

In the dim light, it can be observed that the other person is a young man wearing a strange outfit and a kitsune mask. 

He watches Kitsune look around and take in his surroundings, and tenses as steely grey eyes lock on him.

"I can see you." Kitsune says, "white isn't really condusive to hiding in the shadows you know."

He frowns and looks down at himself. "Why am I wearing this?" he mutters as he takes in his princely garb. 

"Who are you?" Kitsune asks.

That's the first moment where he realizes he doesn't know. 

Rather than give the stranger anything though, he straightens. 

"Don't you already know?"

Kitsune frowns. "My apologies. I can't seem to remember anything."

"That's unfortunate."

Kitsune doesn't appear to be lying, nor to be doubting that-  _ fuck he needs something to call himself _ \- might know more than him.

_ Stupid. Naïve. Who the hell trusts someone they just met. _

_ But, similar outfits, similar situations, there's a chance you know each other. It'd be more efficient to admit you don't remember anything either and work together. _

The two voices keep arguing in the back of his mind until finally he relents.

"I'll admit I don't have any memories either. I woke up here just before you," he says.

"Then this is quite the predicament." Something moves behind Kitsune as he's thinking. A... tail?

_ Cute _ .

The thought pops into his head and disappears just as quickly.

... weird.

"Well, Kitsune, it seems we'll have to work together," he says.

"Kitsune?"

"You don't know your name either right? I have to call you something, and given your mask, it's the obvious choice."

"Mask?" Kitsune reaches a hand up to his face, and proddingly removes the mask, staring at it in awe.

Kitsune is a very pretty, that's clear even in the dim light of the alleyway.

"So, Prince, shall we look around?" Kitsune says after a moment.

"Prince?"

Kitsune cocks his head to the side. "Would you prefer Tengu? I'm just trying to go by your outfit."

"No, Prince is fine."

Prince, huh? It's something, at least.

The two of them poke their heads out of the alleyway. 

They're behind some sort of casino, with brilliant lights flashing all over the place. Prince squints and looks up, just barely being able to make out a small window that looked shattered.

"I think we came from up there," he says. He goes back to where he woke up and picks up the glass, then points to the window.

Kitsune nods. "Makes sense. Shall we go inside then?"

Prince is hesitant to just walk in, but Kitsune has already strode ahead. As they round the front he notes a larger, stained glass, window that has also been shattered. 

No sooner had they gotten in the front doors had guards spotted them and started running over.

Prince grabs Kitsune's arm and starts pulling. "We should go."

"Well maybe they're-"

"SEIZE THE INTRUDERS!"

"-nevermind."

The turn and run, Prince leading Kitsune by the hand, and sprint down the street. Prince doesn't take note of the strange sensation as they move further away from the casino, just slips into another alleyway where they catch their breath.

It’s only when he turns to chew Kitsune out for not being more cautious, that he realizes the outfit that earned that nickname is gone. Prince looks down and sees his own outfit has become a heavy coat over a school uniform. When he looks back, the lights of the casine, which should be visible given its size, are gone.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but I do have a wallet now!” Kitsune says, flipping through it. Eventually he pulls out a small card. “My name is… Yusuke Kitagawa. Looks like I’m a second year at someplace called Kosei.”

Prince pulls out his own wallet. “And I’m Goro Akechi.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Akechi.”

“Likewise.”

Next, Goro pulls out a phone. It’s sleek and modern, but when he turns it on, he finds a passcode prompt staring back at him.

“I don’t remember how to unlock this,” he sighs.

“Want to start going through passcodes?”

Goro rolls his eyes. “It’d wipe everything after the fifth wrong guess, and I doubt we’re that lucky.”

“Phones can do that?”

“...Anyway, what about you?”

Yusuke goes back to his own phone. “Well, mine isn’t locked, but it’s almost out of battery.”

Goro goes closer and peers around Yusuke’s shoulder, aware of how near they are and how it makes something flutter in his chest.

“I’ve got the address for Kosei. My ID says I’m boarding there, so we might want to head there to at least spend the night.” Yusuke says.

“Search your messages for the words ‘my room’ or something to see if you invited anyone up there.”

Yusuke nods, and with a few quick taps finds it. “I’m in the west dorms on the third floor.” His hand moves to his side and he flips through a ring of keys until he finds one with a number stamped on it. “Right, I have the key, should we go there?”

Goro nods, and they make their way to the dorms. Once Yusuke gets them in, he makes a beeline for the closet tosses a red hoodie at Goro.

“You can sleep in that, it’s yours.”

“How do you know that?”

“It was in one of the texts. Apparently you left it hear when you stayed over one night.”

Goro stares at the hoodie, then back at Yusuke. “I stayed over?”

“Yes.” Yusuke plugs the phone into the wall and begins to clear art supplies from the floor. “You can have the futon, if you want.”

Goro obliges, then quickly finds himself drifting off to sleep.

~

_ Goro isn’t sure what’s making his heart beat faster-- the knowledge that he’s so close to fulfilling his mission, the adrenaline of running from the guards, or the sheer weight of Yusuke’s hand in his as they turn a corner. _

_ Yusuke pulls them into a supply closet and Goro is very aware of how  _ close _ they are.  _

_ Close enough to kiss if they wanted to. _

_ “I think they’re gone.” Yusuke says, interrupting that thought. _

_ “Right.”  _

_ Goro opens the door, and they step out. _

_ “Good, let’s meet with the others and-” _

_ Suddenly there’s a shout, then a bright light, and Yusuke is thrown into him and they’re launched backwards- _

_ ~ _

Goro gasps awake. That didn’t feel like a dream… a memory? Even now, Goro can feel the exact details of what he saw slip from his mind, not helped by an insistent buzzing.

Goro looks over and sees his phone, still locked, but with a push notification that says he’s missed a lot of calls. There are a couple of messages he can read too, from which he gleans there was something he was supposed to do last night, but didn't.

Goro sighs and turns his phone off. It was useless if they couldn't unlock it anyway, and really how important could it be if Goro had decided to label the caller "Bitch"?

Even after his phone is turned off, there's still an incessant buzzing. He realizes that it's from Yusuke's phone, which is charging on the other side of the room. Goro gets up and carefully steps around Yusuke’s still sleeping form, and picks it up.

Goro opens the phone to find a truly ridiculous number of new message filling up the notification screen. Rather than the new messages, however, Goro’s attention is drawn to the conversation marked with his name.

He reads through the backlog.

_ Hey, want to grab lunch some time? _

_ Thank you for taking me to the museum, I really enjoyed it. _

_ Sorry I had to leave early this morning, work. I think I took your shirt by accident though. _

That sort of stuff comes up again and again.

“Oh, you saw those.”

Goro jumps and nearly drops the phone at the sound of Yusuke’s voice.

“M-morning. Did you sleep well?” Goro asks.

“Fine. About those texts-”

Goro hands the phone back to Yusuke. “I had a dream,” he admits. “The two of us were together. I can’t exactly remember the details but between that and the texts I’m starting to think-”

“We may have been a couple?” Yusuke finishes. “I was thinking the same thing. There’s a sketchbook here, actually.” Yusuke picks the book in question and flips through the pages filled with sketches of Goro.

“Ah.”

There's an awkward silence where the two just stare at each other. Goro seizes the other boy up. Now that things are a bit calmer and he has a chance to really look at him, Goro can feel a pang in his chest when he looks at Yusuke.

It's Yusuke who eventually breaks the silence. "All that's in the fridge is some takeout curry, if you're hungry."

"Takeout?" Goro goes to the fridge to find it indeed barren, save for a container with a receipt attached to it. 

He grins as he shows it off to Yusuke. "Looks like you bought takeout from this Leblanc place yesterday. If we want to figure out who we are and what we were doing, we should start there."

Yusuke smiles at him, and Goro feels like someone has sucked all the air out of his chest.

Was this how it felt the first time?

Goro coughs to give himself time to compose himself and offers a hand to Yusuke.

"Shall we get going then?"


	5. Abode+When Death Does Us Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro invites Yusuke to his house.
> 
> TW for Major Character Death and Non-consensual drug use

Yusuke isn’t sure what to expect standing outside of Goro’s apartment. The invitation was a little out of the blue considering Goro hadn’t contacted any of the Thieves since November. 

Yusuke’s hand slips to his pocket, just to make sure he still has his phone. He’s supposed to check in with Akira and the others every 30 minutes. It’s a precaution Makoto insisted on, in case Goro had found them out and set some sort of trap.

Yusuke’s trying to decide between knocking or just using his key, but Goro sves him the trouble by opening the door.

“You came.”

“O-of course.” Yusuke stammers. He follows Goro inside, and puts down his bag.

Goro brings over a glass and Yusuke takes a nervous sip. “So, is there a reason you called?” 

Goro smiles. “I just wanted to see you again.”

Yusuke finishes his glass and sets it down. “Yes, I suppose what we had was rather short-lived.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about.” Goro says.

“I guess we never did have that official break-up.”

Goro raises an eyebrow. “So you do want to break up.”

“I thought was obvious,” Yusuke takes a sip from his glass, “considering you murdered Akira.”

Now if only Yusuke’s heart could get the memo.

Goro chuckles. “Nothing gets past you, does it?”

Yusuke sets down his drink and stands up. “What’s the real reason for this house call? If you just want to do me in too, I doubt it’d achieve more than ruining your rug.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Yusuke, please believe that.”

Yusuke doesn’t respond and focuses on the door.

“I know Kurusu is alive.” Goro calls.

Yusuke pauses, hand hovering on the doorknob, then sighs and returns to his seat. “Why’d you call me here, Goro? You know I wouldn’t help you hurt my friends.”

“Believe me, I know that. And I’ve been thinking a lot about… things.” Goro takes a deep breath. “I love you, Yusuke.” 

Yusuke’s treacherous heart flutters in his chest. “You’ve never said that before,” he whispers.

“I know. But it’s how I feel, and I don’t want to fight you.”

Yusuke’s heart his hammering in his chest, and he feels his face heat up. “What are you saying?”

“You’ve seen it right? Shido’s palace. You know he’s the one behind everything. Let me help you, to make up for things.”

The world seems to come to a standstill. In a daze, he pulls out his phone and texts an all-clear to the rest of the Thieves.

“Ok,” he says before Yusuke pulls Goro close and kisses him.

For the first time since he’d arrived, Yusuke allows the tension in his shoulders to release as Goro leads him to the bedroom.

.

.

.

When Yusuke wakes up, his head is pounding. It takes a minute for his surroundings to come into focus, and another for him to process that he’s not at his dorm.

Last night’s events slowly trickle into his mind, and suddenly Yusuke bolts awake. He reaches for the other side of the bed, only to find empty sheets. Yusuke gets dressed quickly and walks into the kitchen to find that empty too, save for a note on the counter.

_ Sorry I had to leave without waking you, but you seemed pretty tired last night and you were sleeping so peacefully it didn’t seem right to disturb you. You’re welcome to whatever is in the fridge.  _

_ See you later. _

Yusuke helps himself to Goro’s leftovers, then decides to head to Leblanc, hoping to talk to Akira and maybe call the other Phantom Thieves.

It isn’t until he’s reached the train station and sees the terminals that Yusuke realizes he slept in until almost noon.

Had he really been that tired?

When he arrives at Leblanc, the rest of the thieves are there. Instead of being reassuring, a knot wraps itself up in Yusuke’s chest.

Yusuke takes a seat in his usual stool, and they stare at him and he stares back.

Akira finally breaks the silence. “What happened last night?”

“Sorry, I slept in. I spent the night at Goro’s. He seemed interested in helpi…” Yusuke trails off as the others exchange nervous glances. 

“Yusuke,” Makoto says slowly. “Akechi is dead.”

Three little words shatter Yusuke’s entire world. “What?”

“We got a message from him last night telling us to meet him in Shido’s Palace or else he’d kill you.” Morgana explains. “We fought him, but then we got cornered and he- he sacrificed himself so we could escape.”

“No.” Yusuke mutters. “H-he.”

_ He wouldn’t _ .

_ But that’s not true is it?, _ Yusuke chides himself,  _ This is exactly something he’d do. He played me like a fiddle. _

Yusuke isn’t sure whether he wants to laugh or cry or curl up in a ball and never move again.

“Are you okay man?” a distant voice asks.

“I-i’m fine. I just need a moment to regain my composure.” The others are crowding around him, and Yusuke can’t take their stares.

He pushes past Akira and out of the cafe entirely.

Yusuke doesn’t know where he’s going until he finds a corner alley that’s completely empty. Yusuke’s phone buzzes, and there’s a message from Akira.

“Akechi wanted you to know he meant what he said.”

As the brisk December air bites into him, Yusuke collapses to the ground and cries.


End file.
